My Goals for the New Year

I am not very big on New Year’s resolutions. Honestly, I kind of hate the holiday. I have never been one to stay up late and I am always cold in those spangly, sequiny dresses we’re supposed to wear in the dead of winter. I am a New Englander; I pretty much wear L.L. Bean from November to April, not sequined tube tops. The whole resolution thing also stresses me out. I usually say I am going to give up shopping and swearing, only to cuss and go shopping the very same day.

The reality is that I am getting older and my daughter never sleeps. I don’t have the energy to change. To be perfectly honest, I don’t really have the desire to change. I have the desire to improve. I have the desire to learn. I have the desire to stick with goals that I set. I am cool with WHO I am, but what I want to change is HOW I am, a little bit. I want to work on these aspects of my life, which bog me down or weigh me down for personal reasons:

Stop spending money on things that are not necessities ALL. THE. TIME.

Get rid of everything that doesn’t have a “home” in the house.

Use and enjoy the stuff I already own.

Allow others to own their anger or disappointment if the choices or decisions I make are in the best interest of my family (NO to that restaurant! NO to brunches and late lunches when you have tiny tots! NO to loading too much into a day! NO to two parties in one day! I’m very sorry you feel that way, but NO, NO, NO!)

Get back to exercising for mind and spirit, not just body.

Start making one household staple a month. (Bread and canning tomatoes to start.)

Focus on showing myself compassion too.

Respect where others are coming from more. (Most effective when done prior to telling them off, naturally.)

Get chickens! (My favorite!)

Watch an entire season of Breaking Bad and Orange is the New Black (a girl can only watch so much Peppa Pig and Little Einsteins, right?)

While your “true self” desires and goals for 2014 are certainly going to differ from mine, do a little bit of research and find people who are aiming to do the same things as you. It becomes a fun esprit de corps when you can bounce ideas off of each other or vent a little if you derail or feel too burdened. With a little investigative work, I came across a number of websites that were devoted to challenging, coaching,and encouraging people with like-minded goals and pursuits for me this New Year’s.

Regardless of your desires and goals for this coming year, focus on appreciating yourself and your family, all of your efforts and all the things that you do right and for others each day. No one is perfect and we can only aim to please the world one person at a time. As Augusten Burroughs once said, “I myself am entirely made of flaws, stitched together with good intentions.” May your heart be light, your intentions pure and may you have a blessed and wondrous new year!

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About Becky Jha

Born and raised in rural Connecticut , Becky DeMattia-Jha attended Salve Regina University in Newport, RI, and has her M.Ed. She has been teaching high school English for 15 years and currently resides in Massachusetts with her husband, their two children, and their German Shepherd. She spends her precious summer vacations indulging in passions other than literature: serving as a lactation peer coach, practicing herbal medicine, organic gardening, making natural cleansers and cosmetics, and preparing quick and easy organic recipes for her family. She hopes to share her efficient, chemical-free, eco-conscious, frugal, and simplistic homemaking and homesteading tips with you.